Acura NSX Type R Rumored For 2019 Reveal With 641 Horsepower

Expected to borrow components from the NSX GT3 race car.

Rumors of an amped-up Type R version of the second-generation NSX have been swirling around the Internet since February 2016, just one a day after Acura opened the order books in the United States for the standard model. At the beginning of this year, Jon Ikeda, the vice president and general manager of Acura in the U.S., hinted at the possibility of dialing the NSX up a notch:

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“I’m a car guy, so always faster performance vehicles … yeah we like that, we talk about it.” During his interview with Australia’s Motoring, Ikeda was a bit cautious, adding “we’ll see … anything can happen. “There’s always proposals” before revealing the company had no plans for an NSX Type R at that stage.

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Fast forward to present day, a new report originating from Japan indicates the hotter derivative has been given the green light and we will get to see it as early as 2019 before going on sale in 2020. While the standard NSX packs 573 horsepower, the meaner version is rumored to bump output to 641 hp transferred to the road via the same dual-clutch, nine-speed automatic transmission.

It is believed the biturbo 3.5-liter V6 will borrow a thing or two from the race-spec engine found in the rear-wheel-drive NSX GT3 race car. Like its track-only sibling, the highly anticipated NSX Type R is expected to feature a more aggressive body dipped in carbon fiber and fitted with a large wing for added downforce at the rear axle.

There have been a signs pointing towards the direction of a beefier version, with Honda patenting a new air dam illustrated on an NSX. Not only that, but a couple of interesting prototypes were seen at the Nürburgring undergoing testing last August, so this new juicy rumor makes sense.

Meanwhile, Autobild reported last month about Acura’s plans to unveil an NSX Roadster as early as this year, but just like with the Type R derivative, we’ll believe it when we’ll see it.